Rock star welcome for Dr Kalam - Nanyang Technological University

SportsWhat does it really take to win at pool? Read more onPage 31More than just swimming,it’s saving lives tooBo e y Wei Sh a nTHE 31st Annual NationalLifesaving Championships openwatersegment was held at SilosoBeach, in conjunction with theongoing Waterfest Singapore2008.Organised by the SingaporeLifesaving Society (SLSS), thecompetition was a display of thephysical and mental enduranceof the participants.Thirteen teams, includingNTU, National University ofSingapore (N US), and fourother teams from polytechnics,participated in 10 events.NUS, the more seasoned ofthe two universities, took thetitle as overall champions.“[NUS] is very experienced...they’ve been taking part formany years,”said Yong Jia Ying,21, chairperson of the NTULifesaving Corps.However, the team from NTUdid not fare badly either.The NTU lifesavers exceededtheir expectations by clinchinggold in the men’s double boardrescue and silver in the women’steam relay events.“Compared to previous years,out team really did improve alot. We got into the finals forall events as a proof of our hardwork and the help of our seniors,”said Yong.The golden duo, Feng HouYuan, 23, and Lui Jian Hong,24, formed the confident doubleboarding team.In an event where paddlingand swimming were key factors,their combination was lethal.“We expected to win. [JianHong] swims fast and myboarding’s not that bad. Wewere banking on this event,”said Feng.As for Reika Hue, 21, and herrelay teammates, staying in thecompetition was more importantfor them.But that did not prevent themfrom claiming the second spot.“We wanted to play safe,made sure our techniques werethere and not get disqualified,”she said.Open-water lifesaving isnotorious for being difficultbecause of the unpredictablenature of sea waters.But despite the slightlyovercast sky by late afternoon,the weather held out, whichensured a smooth sailing day.Amidst the sea of excitingdisplays, one particular lifesaverstood out.As winner of the Ironwoman—arguably the toughest of thecompetition—and the women’sbeach flag events, Christine BooXian Ying, 18, won with a maturedisplay that belied her age.The pint-sized Raffles JuniorCollege student of the WaterSapiens team unfurled her browand managed a bright smile onlyat the end of the competition.“I am very happy and gotwhat I wanted at the end of theday,” she said.“Lifesavingcompetition—it’smore than swimtraining only.”Yong Jia Ying, 21ChairpersonNTU Lifesaving CorpsRegarded as one of thebest in the field by her fellowcompetitors, she was modestabout her win.“It’s a new challenge eachtime, the positions are differentfor each round [of beach flag],”said the young veteran, whostarted out in 2004.For a sport existing in thesuburbs of the mainstream,lifesaving has a strong andcoordinated contingent ofparticipants and organisers andthe lifesavers are proud of beinga part of this sport.“Lifesaving competition— it’smore than swim training only,”said Yong.Besides the Masters Categorythat caters to the adults, the SLSShopes to promote lifesaving as aCCA in more schools to raise thelevel of awareness for it.WHAT’S IN THE SAND?: Competitors getting into position for the beach flags event.PHOTO | COURTESYDouble the fund atNIE Director’s RaceFLAG OFF: Participants at the NIE Director Race in a jovial mood before the run. PHOTO | NARERKRIT SINRACHTANANTFa b i a n Ngs p o r t s e d i t o rA RECORD turnout at this year’sNIE Director’s Race helped doublethe amount raised for charity.About $ 80,000 has beenraised so far, and the figuremay rise further depending on apossible grant from the SingaporeTote Board, according to a NIEspokesperson.This was a substantial increasefrom the $48,000 raised in 2007.T he mone y r a i sed f r omthe event, which was held onAugust 22nd, will go towards theSingapore Children’s Society, thisyear’s chosen beneficiary.After the recent debacle overthe perceived legitimacy of localcharities, a NIE committee chosethe Society after a stringentselection process.A participant in the race,Assistant Professor Lee Yee Hui,said that the choice of organisationplayed an important part ingetting runners who take part insuch events to participate.“Singaporeans are gettingmore sceptical about fund-raisingevents, so it is important forthe organisers to ensure that adeserving charity is selected,”said the School of Electrical andElectronic Engineering facultymember.Assistant Professor ClaraTan, the race organiser, said theSingapore Children’s Society waschosen as it fits NIE’s vision ofhelping youths.She also said that in order todraw a larger crowd to this year’sevent, a “carnival atmosphere”was created to encourage peopleto have fun.Participants, such as NIEstudent Satiish Sathasilvan, 24,acknowledged this. “Being acompetitive runner, what struckme was how fun the event was.”This was due to the additionof several fringe events thatentertained runners, contributingto the overall festive mood.A crowd pleaser was thepresence of several “endangeredanimals”. Some NIE staff andtheir family members dressedup as endangered animalsusing recycled material, to raiseawareness about the problem.To the delight of onlookers,they later joined in the Fun Runevent.Another first for the race wasthe participation of students underthe Group Endeavours in ServiceLearning (GESL) initiative, whichall NIE students have to join.With over 400 f irst-yearstudents involved, it was a majorfactor in contributing to the highturnout.Students from variouseducational institutions acrossSingapore also attended therace, after the organisers madea concerted effort to inviteschools.Canberra Secondary SchoolPrincipal Tan Keng Joo said, “Itwas really overwhelming to seesuch a large turnout, and weenjoyed ourselves immensely.”He added candidly that hisstaff and students went there “notto win but to have fun.”In a light-hearted manner, hesaid, “We have a strong runningculture, but we joined the race toshow our support for the charity.After all, it is a long way to comejust to run.”However, one sour note was theweather, as it rained at irregularintervals. Professor Lee said“the mood was dampened, withrunners running towards shelterbetween races.”Even so, some runners foundthe rain to be a blessing in disguise.Mr Tan said, “It definitely madethe run easier, even though themuscles are colder.”